The Day Belongs to My Sun
by StillAnAnimal
Summary: Claire is fifteen, and ready to be with Quil. Or, so, she thinks. With this new vampire on the loose, trying to kill all of the imprints; Claire included. Now Quil refuses to let her out of his sight and she falls even more; though it's not safe anymore.
1. A Day In The Sun

I grunted and put my book down on my knees. Then I folded my arms and lay my head atop of it.

Even on this beautiful, sunny day I felt miserable. Even as I sat in front of the biggest ocean in the world, all alone, on a big rock ten feet out from shore, doing my favorite thing in the world; my mind was on Quil.

Kristen Hannah was my favorite author at the time being. It had been three days and I read seven of her books with ease. But still, since the moment Quil left for a stupid hunting trip, my mind was on him... literally. But, no, not even Ms. Hannah could keep my head occupied with her gripping love tales.

I couldn't even remember what had happened through the last chapter. All I could think about is how Quil would be reading aloud behind my shoulder. He would sit on this rock just right to make sure I wouldn't fall in and get the slightest wet. Eventually, I would laugh and tell him to knock if off. So then he would start to play with my curled, black hair; braiding it loosely.

Soon enough I would get tired and nuzzle my head on to his shoulder and he would carry me home through the woods; walking slowly so I wouldn't be disturbed.

And, if he were to be my boyfriend, I would tell him to sleep beside me on my bed. He could hold me all night and we could sleep soundly.

But, even I knew that in the real world he would just bring me to Aunt Emily's and my Uncle Sam would take me from his arms and set me down on my bed. Then I would have nightmares, as usual, without _him_ beside me.

"Claire! What are you doing?" My voice called from not to far away.

I bit my lip and turned me head towards the shore and saw my wolf (well, not in wolf form) run out of the woods and across the beach.

"Quil!" I whispered, wishing I could squeal it without sounding desperate. I tried to jump off the rock in to the shallow water, but before my feet touched the warm water, I was in _his_ arms.

"Aw, I missed you Quil!" I told him as he picked up my book from the rock and headed back to the sand.

"Missed you too, Claire bear." And to my dismay he gently set me down on the scorching beach sand. "But you shouldn't be out there without me around. You might fall and hit your head or something..." he mumbled, handing me my book now.

His worrying about me almost made me smile, but I hid it back. "How was your hunting? Catch anything cool?" I asked, very intrigued by some of the storied he would tell.

His eyes looked very in to it as he told the story on how he caught a bear, but he didn't say anything else afterward; he was holding something from me. Like always, trying to protect little, innocent Claire.

"That's amazing. I wish I would have been there," I told him excitedly, hoping he might catch a hint about how I wish he would take me with him.

His eyes burned with disagreement, "You know how dangerous it is out there. I hardly like having you out here where no one's around for miles," he waved his hand around.

He sat down beside me and put his right arm around my shoulders, I leaned towards him. Then I panicked as I realized it was starting to get a little darker, the sun was starting to set.

"Quil," I sighed, not really wanting to bring it up. But I just needed to know, "Why do you have to go hunting almost every weekend? You can eat around here you know. Hell, I'll even make you some meals if it meant you wouldn't leave me so often." I purposefully pulled myself closer and put my head on his chest, so I wouldn't have to look him in the eyes.

His breath was very deep before he started to answer. "It's just what us wolves have to do. Not only are we hunting, but we're checking the perimeter. Making sure La Push is safe for-- everyone."

I wondered if the falter in that last sentence was him meaning to say my name.

"I know, but Aunt Emily is never the same whenever Sam is gone," good idea, shift the conversation away from me. "And Kim and Rachel and Nessie always come over and they all have the same expression. It's so depressing."

He tightened his grip around me nicely, "It's not so easy on the boys either. Trust me, we all wish that we didn't have to go away every weekend. But, like I said, we've got to protect everyone."

He just wasn't getting it. "Why? It's not like there's some mass murderer on the loose or something. In fact, the last death in La Push was six months ago, and it was a man with cancer. What are you protecting us from?"

We sat in silence for a while after that, and I tried to calm myself with the slow beat of Quil's heart. "There are monsters out there, Claire. Monsters that don't live under beds or in closets. Some are so evil and sinister that they should be banned from ever existing.." he went off in to a growl.

I shook a little and he noticed it immediately. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you Claire bear," he set me on his lap like I was five instead of fifteen. "As long as I'm around, though, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. No monsters are going to get within a hundred mile radius of you, trust me."

When he held me like that, how could I not trust them. "And now the only thing that you need to worry about is getting home and getting a good night's sleep before school tomorrow."

I groaned, "Oh, forgot about that." School was such a drag.

"Only two more weeks until summer vacation," Quil reminded me. "And then you can do what ever you please for three months," he smiled and helped me up off the ground. I swiped hands over my shorts to make sure I didn't have any sand on me.

"All I want to do is hang with you all summer, Quillie," I told him, using his nickname that only I would call him.

"Good, because that is exactly what I want to do too," he told me, grabbing my hand. His hand was only a shade or two darker than my own skin. "And that's all we have to do."

"What about the days you're gone?" I reminded him, wishing there was some magical way he didn't have to go away during the weekends in the summer.

"Hmm," he thought, and started to swing our hands between us, "The days I'm gone you can hang out with your friends from school."

I made an annoyed face when I thought about my so-called friends. "Everyone at school is so immature. I mean, who cares if some one doesn't dress right or has bad acne or doesn't have the latest new cell phone? Those friends of mine exclude anyone who's not perfect."

"Well, that's not good," Quil managed to point out the obvious very cleverly, "If they're mean to other people, perhaps you should drop them and find better friends."

I smirked, "If it were only that easy."

He started walking to the tree line with me, "Oh, right. High school. Gross. I'm glad I dropped out of that."

I laughed naturally and nudged my elbow in to his side. Then, his perfect laugh came out and he grabbed my hips. "You think you can get away with that?" He asked playfully in a funny voice. "Well, then prepare to be tickled!"

I screamed, smiling, as he dug his fingers in to my side and tickled me. "Stop!" I squealed. He didn't show any signs of stopping soon. "Quil! I forgot my book!" I said, coming out with the greatest excuse to have him stop.

He stopped and looked at my hands, "Oh, I thought you were kidding. Here, let me go get it..."

"No," I stopped him from even taking a step, "Let me. I'll be back in about ten seconds."

Before he could protest, I turned around and walked fast through the ancient trees around me, then on to the sand and over to where my book was. Exactly where I left it.

I bent over and picked it up, dusting the sand off.

"That was nice," I heard some creepy voice whisper from close behind me, "Do it again, kitten."

My body tensed as I realized it wasn't Quil. This wasn't even a voice I had ever heard before. As I prepared myself to turn and run, screaming at the top of my lungs; a voice yelled before I could even take a step.

"Claire! Run! Get Sam! Now!" Quil's voice yelled furiously behind me. Then I heard a large whoosh only inches away from my head. I turned around, and to my horror, there was Quil in wolf form, being thrown across the ground by some guy who looked human. That was, until he turned around and I saw his eyes glow red.

I ran away from him and pulled out my cell phone. "Sam! Help! I'm on First Beach! Some one's hurting Quil!" I screamed and slammed it shut. Then, I stopped running, realizing I couldn't leave Quil without helping. I started running back toward the freaky-eyed guy.


	2. Sunny My Ass

I could not stop myself from running towards the thing that was hurting Quil. So, being the girl I was, I jumped on the man's back the second he had turned away. I punched the back of his head once before I found myself on the ground. I couldn't deny myself the crunching noise I had heard when I landed; but I couldn't bring myself to be helpless.

If looks could kill, well, then you would have Quil right about then. With one paw he batted the man down on the sand and hovered over him. Normally, I knew, that this would crush a man into nothing but dirt; but instead the crimson-eyed man started _laughing_.

Quil could only shoot me one pleading look before the man had gotten himself up and attacking him.

"Stop!" I screamed, wishing I pull myself off the ground and kill that man. "Stop it!" I grabbed at the sand and drug myself a few inches.

The man looked back at me and laughed again. "Silly, little human," he remained in the same position he was, and then grabbed Quil by the neck and slammed him against a huge boulder. "You're quite amusing actually. I can't wait to have my way with you once we get rid of your little friend here," he turned back toward Quil.

"No!" I screamed, the only thing that could come out of my mouth. I was about to offer he kill me first before I heard a bunch of footsteps running across the beach behind me.

"Brady, take Claire home now!" I heard the 'Alpha' in Sam's voice before I was pulled off the ground, in to Brady's human arms and through the forest.

"Please, no!" I fidgeted in his arms, "I have to help Quil!"

"Stop, Claire." His voice was way too calm for the time being, "Quil is going to be fine. The pack is going to take care of that bastard," he hissed. "You're not the only one pissed at this situation, they always send me off to do the easy work."

As soon as Brady set me down on something, a couch; I realized, that I was full out crying. My eyes were burning from the salt and I was shaking a little.

"Oh, Claire!" Aunt Em's voice seemed to sooth me like my mother's had. "Brady, can you call Carlisle? It might be hard to explain to a human doctor what happened, I'm afraid."

Aunt Emily sounded so calm, of course, in such a situation. She pulled all the hair out of my face and wiped the moisture off my face, "Where do you hurt, honey?" She kept asking over and over. Did she want to know the truth? My heart hurt, that's what.

"My leg," I finally managed out, just so Aunt Em got that horrid, worried expression off of her face.

Emily looked up suddenly and stood up to look out the front window. "Carlisle!" She sighed, relieved.

I didn't know much about the Cullen family, but I probably knew the most about Carlisle. He was around whenever one of the pack members injured themselves. He walked through the door with another blond vampire behind him. Jasper. Jasper was one that I had seen from a distance, but never said a word to. But then I remembered that he could make people feel things. I felt my hurting go away, and my tears stopped rolling down.

He was good.

"Thanks," I told both of them as Carlisle went on his knees to examine me.

"Now, where does it hurt?" Carlisle asked me, and I felt a little embarrassed even staring at him; he was very handsome. The way he asked me was less worried and more doctor-ly.

"My leg," I said immediately, "I think it's cracked or something."

He went on to feeling up and down my leg, he stopped at my knee. He pressed some force on it, but I couldn't feel it because of Jasper. "There it is," he said, calmly, "Your leg is broken, right at the knee. But, in a few minutes I will have it all bandaged up and it should feel a tad bit better. You'll need the cast for at least six weeks and then I can make another house call to remove it." He told me, then turned to Jasper. "Jasper, can you call Esme for me? Tell her to run over some crutches for Claire, I didn't know we would been needing them or I would have brought them myself." He stopped for a moment and then finished with, "Oh, and tell her there is no need to hurry."

Jasper nodded and left the room while still some how managing to numb my pain.

Carlisle dug in his bag for half a second and pulled out the stuff he was going to wrap my leg in. I groaned, remembering my previous experience with this sort of stuff. He chuckled.

"Now, if I remember right, didn't you break your arm some years ago?" He asked playfully, and I was glad he knew how to keep such light conversation.

"Yes, when I was nine. Some girl pushed me down the slide during recess and I just so happened to fall wrong," I said, remembering it all too well.

I had started screaming and crying and the teacher brought me to the nurse. The first one through the doors to see me was Quil, of course, wearing that same worried expression he put on whenever something was wrong with me. Then Aunt Emily came and brought me to the E.R. Which is where they put me in some cast from hell. For six weeks I was miserable.

And now it was going to happen again.

Carlisle just finished wrapping my lower leg when he looked away from his work for a quick second. "Edward's coming," he told me. "He should probably know what's happening with the pack right about now."

My eyes widened and all of a sudden I remembered why I had a broken leg. Trying to save Quil. Where was he? Was he all right? I threw all these questions at Edward through my mind. It wasn't totally annoying having some one who could read your thoughts.

He didn't even start with any sort of greeting, "Everyone is doing pretty well. In fact, most of the pack along with Emmett and Rose are trying to chase _him _down. There is one minor injury thought," he scratched his head. "Sometime during the fight Quil got his head knocked against something hard, a rock I'm betting, and he is having the symptoms of a minor concussion. Embry and him are over at the house, waiting. I injected Quil with some pain killers, but you might need to see him soon." He glanced down from Carlisle to up at me on the couch, "I can take over from here, if that's best."

Carlisle nodded and handed the wrap in to Edward's pale hands.

I was only scared for a half second before Jasper got the best of me. Besides, there was no reason to be scared of Edward, he had helped my Quil after all. I can't believe Quil had a concussion. "Are you sure he is going to be okay?"

"Trust me, Claire, Quil is going to be just fine. Carlisle is going to work on him a little... it should take a half an hour tops. Carlisle works fast. Then, he won't need much recovery, maybe two hours or so...And, maybe after I'm done wrapping you up I can bring you over to see him. The entire time I was trying to inject the medicine, he kept questioning over and over how you were." He shook his head, smiling, like he knew something I didn't.

"Edward, I don't suppose you know where Sam is..." Emily hadn't spoken much since Carlisle arrived, and I had basically forgotten she was in the room.

"Don't worry, Emily. Sam is with the pack, and the last I heard of them, they were planning on heading home soon."  
She smiled and said sweetly, "Thank you."

Edward didn't say another thing as he finished off the wrapping of my leg. He finished off quite quickly, actually. "Carlisle told you everything about the cast?" He asked politely, though I was sure he already knew.

I nodded and starting wondering about Quil again. How many more moments until I could see him?

"We can leave to the house as soon as Esme gets here. I wouldn't want her to have to come all the way here only to find we left for the house," he said, looking over at Emily who was now pacing. I don't even think she realized she was. "Ah, here she comes now."

I heard a car pull in to the driveway. I only kind of wondered why she hadn't just ran here. She was inside in three seconds, pulling off the freaky, fast vampire stuff. The crutches were tucked under her arm and then she passed them to Edward.

"Here you go, son," she said. Then she knelt in front of me, "How are you doing, hon?" And that quality of hospitality no matter the situation reminded me of my Aunt Emily and my own mother.

"A lot better," I told her, glad to see that a big smile came across her face. "I just can't wait to see Quil," I sighed out.

"Well, maybe we should go, then. Are you excited to try out your brand new crutches?" She asked, starting to pull me up off the couch. The way she asked it sort of sounded like I won a shiny car or something.

I put on a sarcastic smile, "Of course."

Aunt Emily raced across the room and grabbed the crutches from Edward, who was holding them out to her, and she put them under my arms. "Do they fit right?" She asked, and I knew if they didn't she would find a way to make them.

At that moment I felt glad to have so many people in my life, family or not, that cared so much for me.


	3. Nothing to Scar the Sun

The crutches were already digging themselves into my armpits as I walked up to the Cullen's residence. Their house was noticeably light for vampires. Edward chuckled.

The inside of the house was no different from the outside. It was so pretty, I wish I could rearrange my own house to resemble this place.

But, as half my brain tried to hide the other half with pretty colors and fabrics, I just wanted to run and see Quil.

Edward pointed to a staircase, "He's upstairs. Do you need some help?" He offered his hand to me and I handed him one of my crutches and limped over to the bottom of the huge staircase.

I placed my right elbow, the one without the crutch, on the railing and hoisted myself up on the first step. I winced a little. But, I reminded myself that I would rather be doing this than have Edward carry me or something... that might cause some sort of scene, I was afraid. So I hobbled my way up, tiring myself out quite a bit when I reached the top. Edward appeared suddenly beside me, reaching his hand out with the crutch in it. _Thank you_, I thought and continued down the hall way.

Edward walked at my side and opened a door for me. No doubt the room Quil was in. I smiled at him and excitedly made my way in to the room. There was my Quil, laying down, looking up at the ceiling; dazed.

"Claire," he sat up, the dazed expression gone. "Are you okay?" He obviously didn't notice I was on crutches.

"I'm totally fine, Quil, what about you? Shouldn't you be lying down?" I asked, suddenly worried about his mental health as he wore such a weird expression on his face.

"Can I hug you?" He asked out of the blue. I tried to fight back a huge smile as I let my crutches fall to the floor and wrapped my arms around his neck. "What were you thinking out there, crazy girl, you could have got.." he shuddered and then I knew what he didn't want to say.

"But I didn't," I reminded him. "And you can't always be the brave one. You don't always need to be the one to save me."

"And now because of me, you're hurt," he wrapped his arms around my shoulders tighter and pulled me on to his lap way too easily.

"No, I am hurt because of myself. I could have ran, but I chose to try and help you, Quil," I told him, stating what I thought he already knew.

His head pulled away from mine and I saw his brown eyes bore in to mine, almost like he was casting some sort of spell on me. He pulled my hair behind my ears. The moment his hot skin touched my cheek and then my ear my heart and breath stopped.

The door slammed open and Quil swung me off of the bed quickly. My head spun and I felt like fainting. But when I saw who was at the doorway, I stood up straight.

But the blush on my face revealed what had happened, "Hey Sam," I said, laughing a little, that was innocent, was it not?

"It doesn't seem like you need as much recovery time as the doctor planned out," Sam strode across the room and grabbed the collar of Quil's shirt. "The pack, along with some Cullen's, are having a meeting down in the dining room. Perhaps, you should join us. You seem to have rested enough."

And just like Quil did with me, but much less gentle, Sam swung Quil right off the bed and on to his feet. Quil did not have any faltering moment, he just started following Sam out of the room.

I grunted and leaned myself against the wall. I tried to lean over and pick my crutches on the ground but instead I started to fall. Great, it seemed like these crutches were going to cause me more pain that I already had. But before I could hit the ground I felt two, cold, little hands grab me by my waist. All of a sudden I was up right and the crutches were under my arms.

"I'm sorry," I heard a light, girlish voice behind me. And then she was in front of me.

Alice. I hadn't known her too well, only admired her from behind, "I didn't scare you, did I? I just... I saw you and I couldn't resist. With all these shape shifters and part vampires around nowadays, it's nice to finally have a human around to see ahead of time."

It took me only three seconds to decipher what she meant. Of course, she could see things before they happened. She must have been down the hall when she saw I was about to fall. And, well, with all this freaky, quick vampire stuff, it couldn't have taken her long to get to me.

"No, thank you very much, actually," I told her, my voice poorly imitating her soft voice. "The last thing I need is another broken leg," I shrugged and she laughed.

Her face turned serious, "Do you need anything at all? I know the men are all talking about this thing that's happening... do you want a sandwich? Oh maybe a manicure?"

I shook my head, gladly, "No, don't worry about me... I'm fine. But, I _am_ sort of curious on what they're talking about."

Her face lit up like I had just suggested some great idea or something. She tugged at my hand and whispered, "Come on, I know where you can listen and be hidden. It's not really needed in a house where we all have super hearing, but it will be perfect for you."

She put her arm around my waist and leaned my crutches at the wall. Somehow she managed to walk at a human pace and I didn't have to limp much, she basically lifted me up at her side. She was odd and after only knowing her a minute, I was wondering if she ever had a bad side.

Alice led me down the hallway some more and in to a hall closet. I gave her quite a wild look, it was hard not to.

She explained herself quickly, "There's a vent on the floor in the back of the closet that leads straight to the ceiling of the dining room. I always thought it would be a perfect eavesdropping spot, but since I already have excellent hearing and can hear everything in the house, what was the point?"  
The incredulous look could still not be wiped away from my face.

She started to pull aside some coats and boots so that there was a little pathway to the back of the closet. She stepped in and turned on a light. I saw the vent automatically, since my eyes had been sweeping around the closet for it.

"Why are you telling me this? Obviously, they didn't want me at the meeting..."

She shook her head, "I think it's wrong to keep you out with this. It's a bit hard to explain, so I thought I would let you figure it out for yourself."

That brought me back a bit. Here was this girl I just met personally a few minutes ago, and she acted as though helping me was not much at all. It was a lot in my book. I thanked her once again and she helped me sit down in the closet (I really wanted to scream for putting myself in this cast). She shut the door almost silently but left the light on.

I tried to turn off my other thoughts and focused on listening to the guys downstairs.

"There must be a way we can protect all of them at once... what if we keep them all in one household until we kill this bloodsu—guy," Jared's enthusiasm about killing something was how I knew it was him speaking.

"Why is this even a big issue? There's a million of us, and one of him?" Seth's younger voice asked.

"Well," now Edward had started to add in, "I learned quite a few things when he was near enough for me to focus on his thoughts. His name is Zachary and he has a very interesting power. He can basically hide himself—his scent, that is—and that is how he sneaks up so easily and how he gets away so easily. But, we do have a few unfair advantages of our own. He can't hide his mind, so I can read him just like any other and of course we have our unusual numbers..."

My thoughts scattered all of a sudden. I had little clue what the hell anyone was talking about. I almost gave up at deciphering their words when I heard a very familiar voice say something.

"Anyone mind explaining why he's after our imprints after all?" Quil asked, and his tone was holding back so much anger that it scared me.

Wait, imprints? I searched my brain, trying to remember if I'd ever heard that word before. Nope. Maybe it was another weird wolf thing... I would have to ask Quil later on to be sure.

The crowd all mumbled some 'yeah's. Edward cleared his throat to speak again, "Well, I know this is hard to believe, but Zachary was one of Victoria's victims. It was many years ago, but I'm sure you all remember our fight against all the newborns."

An odd voice popped out of nowhere, "One got away?" Jasper hissed, and I had no clue why he would be so angry or what fight they were talking about.

Another wise voice spoke now, Carlisle, "Yes. Edward and I had discussed this a little earlier and I believe, since Zachary had the talent that he does, that he escaped after he realized he had little chance of surviving. We were all to in to the battle to even notice an absence."

This is where it got interesting. Another new voice, Paul I guessed, spoke, "You're blaming this on us?" He said very defensively.

"Absolutely not, it's none of our faults, really. We were all caught up in everything to do anything about it," Carlisle said, in his doctor voice now.

"Wouldn't Edward have read his mind and figured out he was escaping?" Jared asked, through clenched teeth, or so I imagined.

The room silenced for a few seconds. Edward spoke, "I wasn't at the fight, remember?" He asked, his tone very cold.

"Then it's your fault!" Jared accused imediately, "You were a coward! You should have been there, that day, and went after that bloodsucker!" I gasped a little when he actually said it, "And now that man is after our reasons for living! He wants revenge, and you should have killed him that day!" I heard a lot of shuffling around and clanking of things. I hoped Quil was all right.

"Back off, Jared!" A woman's voice sounded more defensive than Jared had been earlier. It sounded like Edward's wife, Bella. "If he would have been there, Victoria would of managed to kill me, possibly even Seth! You should shut your mouth and think before you make such accusations," I heard very loud stomps that were traveling out of the dining room.

I didn't know Bella was like that at all. Every time I had seen her, she was always very polite and almost silent. But, I guessed that was what happened when some one physically or verbally attacked some one you loved.

"I'm leaving," Jared mumbled loudly, making sure everyone heard him. More footsteps followed with him as he left. I hoped Quil wouldn't leave with him.

Then the small conversations were too quiet for me to hear, so I leaned in the corner of the closet and slowly closed my eye lids. It had to be almost ten o'clock by now. I was sort of tired.

I didn't want to fight the blackness as it settled over my eyes, I was too happy to be asleep.

It was quiet and calm, quite a contrast to what I had just experienced.


	4. The Core of the Sun

"Claire, honey, wake up," the most wonderful voice cooed me as I passed the line from dreaming to fully awake. Quil was on his knees, leaning over me, and shaking my shoulder.

"Hey Quil," I whispered, my voice hoarse. Then, it hit me why I was in the closet. Oh, whoops... I had fallen asleep.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"It's midnight," he answered, still using his coo-ing voice. "Uncle Sam and Aunt Emily left in a hurry, so they told me to take you home."

"Okay," I smiled, and reached my arms out towards him.

He laughed and picked me up gently. "What were you doing in a closet anyways? The bed wasn't comfortable enough?" He asked, a little bit of joking in his voice, but also a lot of worry.

"I will explain later," I yawned. I let my head fall on to Quil's shoulder and I shut my eyes. "I'm tired," I admitted. Though, I wish I weren't, because then Quil and I could do something together. I guess I would have to blame it on my stupid, broken leg.

He didn't say anything for a while after that. Sometimes it barely felt like we were moving, but I looked up every once and a while and saw the forest floor. I'm glad he decided to take this way instead of driving. I liked his arms better than the backseat of a truck.

"What's an imprint?" I asked him suddenly, trying to remember what else I wanted to ask him about the conversation I had heard.

Quil stopped dead in his tracks. I hadn't expected him to be so wary, so I looked up at his brown eyes that were looking down at me.

"Perhaps I will explain it later," he shifted my body weight to one arm and pulled my hair out of my face with his other hand. "But now, you need to sleep. You're tired, my Claire bear."

My heart fluttered and I blushed. I tucked my head to his chest again, hoping to appear just as if I was asleep. When in reality I couldn't rest at all. I was _his_ Claire bear.

Sooner or later I got drowsy again, but then I heard some voices that were a bit loud.

I looked up and we were in my living room. Quil was now passing me over to Uncle Sam. I tried not to show my disappointment.

"You took her through the woods?" Sam asked, through closed teeth.

"Yes, I knew she would be safe with me, otherwise I wouldn't dare. Plus Edward would know if that-- Zachary guy was in the perimeter at all. I know what I'm doing," he said, being very defensive.

"You're putting your life and my niece's life on the trust of bloodsuckers? Quil, our pack is the only people we can trust. The vampires may be helpful in some situation, but you can't always rely on them." He spoke louded. I shuddered.

"Get her to bed, she's tired. I'm sure she doesn't appreciate all this yelling," Quil whispered. I didn't move at all, how did Quil always know exactly what I wanted?

Uncle Sam jerked me around to face another way, "She is my niece, I know what I'm doing." He started walking down the hall, I could feel his enormous footsteps taking place. But, soon enough, I was on my bed.

Then I just let myself fall asleep. I just had to.

"Claire, wake up," the sweet voice of my Aunt chanted, "You've got to get ready for school."

Oh, great. I groaned and pulled my pillow over my head.

"Come on, hun, two more weeks." Then there was an absence of my comforter and sheets. I shivered.

"The only way to get warm is to put some warmer clothes on... and to do that you'll have to get up," she said, too sweetly, and left the room.

I was about to protest, on account of my leg, but as I sat up I saw my crutches leaning up against my wall by my bed. Some one must have got them from the Cullen house, I couldn't remember Quil carrying them along with myself.

I heaved myself out of bed, set my crutches up under my armpits and walked to my closet. I picked out a sweatshirt and some jeans. If it was like any other day (yesterday being an exception) it would be cold and muddy. Somehow I managed to get my clothes on myself without falling down.

Then, I quickly put my hair up in a ponytail and walked out in to the living room. Both of the car's were gone; and I knew Emily and Sam had left for work. But, as usual, there was a gray truck in the driveway. And I saw Quil sitting in it, looking in at me. He smiled and I gestured for him to come in. It didn't take him long.

"You almost ready to go?" He asked me as he closed the front door behind him. His hair was wet and matted down on his forehead.

"Yes, I just want to grab an apple to eat on the way," I told him. Before I could walk a step, he darted in to the kitchen and back out with a big, red apple.

"Enjoy," he told me.

I laughed and took a big bite in it. Man, did I love apples. Quil stared at me as I chomped down a few more bites.

"What?" I asked playfully, "Do you want some?" I reached it out to him.

He laughed and shook his head. "No, I ate a huge breakfast... three deer." He chuckled and I made a grossed out face.

"Ready?" He asked again, though not seeming impatient.

"Yup," I started to walk forward, but again Quil surprised me, and lifted me on to his back. I put my arms around his neck and he walked over to the hall closet. I wasn't really surprised when he grabbed out an umbrella.

He then stepped outside on the porch and opened up the umbrella and held it directly over my head. I laughed as he got drenched and kept shaking his hair.

He set me in the passenger seat of his truck, slammed the door, and went inside to get the crutches. Then he shoved them in the back and climbed in himself.

"Aw, I don't get to drive?" I asked, though I knew why he wouldn't. Now that I was fifteen, he always let me drive. I could tell he got very nervous sometimes, though, and wouldn't let me drive in town or on the highways.

"Don't think so, little Claire," he said and started the truck up. "Now buckle up, I think I would get murdered by Sam if I did anything more to hurt you."

I rolled my eyes but put my seat belt on.

He drove and I finished my apple. Most of the time I was too tired in the morning to do anything but mumble. But today, Quil was driving me nuts. I didn't know why, either.

"Will you tell me what an imprint is now?" I asked, approaching the conversation since we still had a good fifteen minute drive.

He looked over at me, "Later?" He asked. "It's—well, it's sort of hard to get a grasp on. It might take a while to explain everything..."

I shrugged, "Then what about tonight? When I get home from school and finish my homework we can go down to First Beach and talk about it." I was surprised at myself on how easy that plan had been.

"No more First Beach, Claire. But, maybe at home... before your aunt and uncle get home."

"You're agreeing that easily? Usually you're more stubborn than a mule," I added in lightly.

He didn't pick up my tone, his voice was hard now. "You deserve to know, Claire."

My heart sped up. "Oh... is it bad?"

He didn't smile, "Most of the time, it's not. It's a pretty fantastic thing... but, as for now, it's—well, you'll figure out soon enough."

I shook a little without him noticing and faced out the window. I just couldn't decipher what an imprint was, even with the little information he had given me. Whoever an imprint was, it was a bad thing to be right now. And I knew that from the conversation last night that it meant the imprints were on a hit list of the Zachary guy. I also knew Quil had an imprint himself, and I couldn't figure out whether to be happy or sad about it. He must have been going through hell right now.

Before long, we arrived in front of the little high school of La Push. It had around eight-hundred students and a good swim/dive team. And that was about it. It wasn't anything extraordinary, just a brown-red brick building with windows and doors. Cars of people I had known for years all parked in the front area.

Quil drove up to the drop-off area (how lame, right?) and got out to help me out of the truck. Many people were looking at me, and I wish I had decided to wear my hair down; to hide my blushed face. He put my backpack handles around my arms (I left it in his truck every night since he always, always, always drove me to school). Then, just like a mother or father would, he placed the crutches under my arms and kissed my cheek. "Have a good day, Claire bear."

I then strode in to the school, ignoring the looks directed at me. Whispers fled, of course. Stupid broken leg!

One of my "friends", Ashley, came up to me and started to act all freaked out. "Oh my god! What the hell happened, C?"

"Uh- I fell... on First Beach," I told her, since that was partly true. She glared at me weirdly.

"Oh, that's it? You just fell?"

I had some sort of incentive that she was hoping it to be some cool story on how I had broken my leg.

I shrugged, "Basically, Ash." I used her nickname, since I knew she appreciated it much.

"That's too bad," she fake pouted, and then turned around to go another way. "Later, Cuh-laire."

Sometimes it was very easy to loathe people. Like today. It felt like the entire world was against me. And, tonight couldn't go any better.

There was a part of me that wanted to know what an imprint was... but, another part didn't want to make Quil suffer by bringing up the topic of what it was. Since he had one himself, he probably got sad when he thought about Zachary.

My poor Quil.


	5. I Am My Sun's Light

By the time my fifth and last hour was over, I was ready to be picked up by Quil. I had gotten so much unneeded and unwanted attention today I just wanted to crawl in a hole—or in Quil's arms if they were available...

I limped my way out of the school and was greeted immediately by him. He came up beside me and grabbed my history and Geometry books that I had tucked under my arm and over my crutch. I had to admit, it had been sort of uncomfortable.

"Hey Claire bear, how was school?" He asked as we walked ten yards or so to his truck.

I didn't want how horribly drastic it had been from the broken leg; but I figured Quil didn't need another reason to feel sorry for what happened. "Just like any other Monday would," I sighed.

He laughed and helped me in to the truck again. Was he oblivious to everyone's stares or was I just to observant?

"And how was work?" I asked him once he got in on his side of the truck and I had buckled up.

He shrugged, "Just like any other Monday," he repeated.

Quil never told me much about his job, but I knew it didn't require much of him... he was allowed to leave every weekend and only work the hours I was at school.

The conversation I so wanted to have was lingering over us so closely. Could I bring it up, though?

"Now, maybe you can explain to me why you were fell asleep in the Cullen's closet last night," he said, not looking away from the road.

I blushed, "I was doing a terrible job on eavesdropping..." I admitted, but now I could see my opener, "But that's how I figured out that you had an imprint, and that this Zachary guy is after it."

He looked over at me and held in a breath. "I'll tell you as soon as we're home, all right?"

That sounded reasonable, so I nodded my head and shut my trap. The ride home seemed longer than normal, and I wished we could have just went straight to First Beach. But I knew we could no longer do that until this _thing_ was taken care of.

We pulled in to the empty driveway and again Quil took all care from me and set me down on the couch.

"Can we talk in my room instead? This couch gives me a backache," I complained. When, really, I knew that the bed gave me more freedom to be closer to Quil instead of us awkwardly sitting next to each other side-by-side on the couch.

He looks hesitant but gave in anyways. His warm arms wrapped around me and we went in to my bedroom and on to my queen-size bed. He set me down and then sat next to me. I positioned myself so I was leaning against his shoulder and he put his arm around my waist and kissed the top of my head. My mind went for a few moments since he was touching me down at my waist, then I recovered.

"You're old enough to know what an imprint is, Claire," he told me and then kissed my head again. I just nodded, hoping he wouldn't lapse too much in the conversation, "Your Uncle Sam may not think so, but I know so." He took my hand. "An imprint is a wolf thing, as you probably already know... and, well, it's a very good thing... Jacob has one, same with Jared, and Paul, and Collin, and even your Uncle Sam."

"Seriously?" I asked, stunned.

He nodded, "Emily. Ever since the day he saw her, he fell in love, because it's destiny. And that's exactly what an imprint is. Some one you care so much about that it hurts to be away, and some you dedicate all your time to simply because you love them more than anything."  
I tried to hold back my tears, thinking how about now that Quil had an imprint. Some one he loved. "And you have one?" I asked, warily.

He must have seen whatever was in my mind and pulled me on to his lap. He started running his hands over my now loose curls. "Yes," he kissed my cheek, "And she is you, Claire."

I opened my eyes wide and turned to face him head-on. "Really?" My smile grew bigger. "You love me?'

He nodded, "More than I've loved anyone or anything. Ever since you were born I've been around, making sure that you're all right."

My head started to spin. He loved me all the time. I was his imprint. I fell against his chest and started to shake a little.

"Claire? Claire, are you okay?" Quil questioned at me, asking the question over and over.

It took me only a few more seconds to recognize that I was shaking because I was sobbing.  
"Oh my god, Claire, I'm so sorry I upset you. I didn't know," he hugged me so tight that I could inhale every scent of him.

"No," I sobbed out, and tried to lean back and he let me. "I'm crying because I love you too and I'm just so happy," I told him and he pulled me to his chest again.

He turned absolutely still under me. He pushed his hands through my hair and rubbed my back. We didn't talk as I tried again to calm myself. When I stopped crying, I bravely pushed away again to look into his eyes. "I'm so happy, Quil," I told him again, for he looked sort of upset.

"Now you understand why I leave every weekend. I do everything for you, Claire bear," he explained while rubbing my hands.

"You don't have to, you know," I sniffled, getting rid of the last of the tears.

He shook his head fiercely, "I want to. As long as you're breathing or your heart thumps I will be there, every move I make is for you."

Hm, that sounded nice. My heart fluttered and I closed my eyes quickly. "Really?" I asked, letting my forehead now touch his. "Every... single... move?" I licked my lips.

"Yes," he responded and started to bring his nose to mine so they would intertwine. "I love you Claire."

And just when he was about to press his hot lips against mine, "Quil!" Uncle Sam appeared out of nowhere.

He swung me off his lap like he had just the other day. He didn't show any fear toward Sam this time, just anger. "Sam! You can't keep controlling me like this!"

Sam took several steps towards Quil, "As long as I'm Alpha, you will do exactly what I say. And I say you need to stay the hell away from my niece until she's older," he growled and grabbed Quil by his arm.

"No!" I flew off the bed and tried to land smoothly between them but ended up on the floor.

The got on their knees instantly. At least I had gotten their attention. "Claire!" Quil shrieked, "Are you all right?" He held up my back.

"Get away," Uncle Sam swiped him away. "Claire, girl, are you fine?"

Quil kept trying to peek out from behind. "Go away Quil or I'll do something you'll regret," Sam growled with his eyes closed.

"I will go. I will go and get the hell away from you and your fucking pack dictatorship!" I had never heard Quil swear like that before.

"Claire, I'll be back," he promised at me and then left. Uncle Sam acted as if he wasn't even there and picked me off the floor and on to the bed. He kissed my forehead and then stormed out. I somehow managed to keep my tears away until he was down the hall and away from me.

But, before I knew it, I was asleep.

I woke up late in the night to my window being opened. I almosted let out a bloodcurdling scream, but something told me that this figure wasn't dangerous.

His dark skin was the hint. It was Jacob Black, the Beta of the wolf pack.

"Claire, is it okay if I take you out to the woods? Some of us are having a meeting, and I thought you would want to be included," he spoke in a soft whisper that contrasted his tall body.

I nodded, "Is Quil going to be there?" I whispered back at him.

"Yes, he will be." He picked me off my bed and I noticed he didn't bother to grab my crutches.


	6. Sun's Fire

Jacob dragged me further and further in to the forest. He walked fast enough for the trees to blur past us, but he managed not to break out in to a jog or run. For the first time, I noticed he was shirtless. I guess it didn't matter much to my anyways, I loved Quil.

"Is your leg doing okay?" He asked, slowing a bit to wait for my response.

"Yeah, it's good," I told him, daring to glance up at his face. "Thanks."

He gave a firm nod and got back up to his normal pace. Then, I closed my eyes and gave a silent yawn.

I guessed I should have been freezing, even in the warmer months in Washington the cold always reappeared at night, but Jacob was warm. Another lovely werewolf trait.

All of a sudden, I felt a new sort of warmth come over me.

"Claire!" Quil's voice said excitedly. I opened my eyes as I was traded from Jacob to Quil. This time, I noticed automatically that he was also without a shirt. He laughed as I smiled drowsily at him. He took a seat on a log and shifted me so I was up right on his lap. I then noticed what had warmed me, there was a blaring fire only a yard in front of me.

Around the camp fire sat five others, besides me and Quil. Four of them were part of the pack; Seth, Embry, Leah, and of course Jacob. Jacob sat with his arm around his girlfriend Nessie Cullen. Nessie was the one and only daughter of Edward and Bella Cullen. I instantly remembered what Quil told me, Nessie was an imprint to Jacob. Just like I was to Quil.

She smiled over at me. I smiled back and gave her a little wave of my hand.

Jacob abruptly kissed her lips and stood up. "It's time for a change. Again," he said, with so much power backing up his voice. "I have called you all here because of the situation we are in.

"A while ago I broke away from Sam because he failed to realize that the Cullen's were peaceful. Now, this time around, I've discovered again that he does not trust the Cullen's. And, well, that's stupid. They are what we need in this situation; Zachary possesses a power which makes it almost impossle to hunt him down.

"I know that last time, both Seth and Leah came to join me. I'm hoping that I'm close enough to you, Embry, that you will join us. And, Quil, I can guarantee you that Claire will be much more safe under the new pack."

He paused, looked down, and spoke again. "The only thing is, I don't have an exact plan for you, Claire," he looked up at me and I feared him just a little bit. "We can't just take you to the Cullen house, you are under custody of Sam and Emily. But, I do have other strategic plans that I have talked over with Edward. But, I'll have to talk about that later. For now," he turned to look at Quils, and then shifted to his glance to Embry. "Do you two know what you want to do yet?"  
Embry stood up as soon as Jacob had finished, "Hell yeah! I'm not going to miss out on that again!"

He stood up and gave Jacob a quick hug and pat on the back.

I looked up at Quil. His face was unreadable. He looked at me and nuzzled his cheek against mine.

"What do you think?" he asked in a whisper.

I closed my eyes and rested my head on his shoulder, "I'm not really sure. Whatever you want, Quillie."

"Quil?" Jacob's voice boomed towards us. I pulled away from Quil so I could face him.

"I don't know," Quil said, very warily. "Can I have a day or two to think about it?"

I saw the sides of Jacob's mouth go down, I think he expected it to be easier.

"I guess that's fine. But that means we have to wait until you've decided before we break apart from the pack, otherwise Sam might get to you before you make your decision and screw with your head," he snorted.

It surprised me a little how everyone was so against my Uncle Sam. I mean, I loved him like any Uncle, and people were always looking up to him and following him. I always thought he was right. And I knew that was wrong.

"Jacob, Claire is tired and she has school tomorrow, is there anyway we can call this meeting good?" Quil asked him, speaking almost exactly what I was thinking. I did have one question to ask though.

"Why can't you take me home Quil?" I asked, out of pure curiosity. If Quil dropped me off, then we would have some privacy to do whatever we wanted.

"If Sam smells me, he'll think I'm there to visit you or something... when he smells Jacob, he'll just think he's running around the perimeter or something," he told me, almost like a story. His voice was soft and he was brushing his face against mine again. It was a weird way of affection, but very intoxicating.

"I'll be glad to escort Claire home," Jake said, leaving Nessie's side after giving her a lovingly look. "I suppose, in return, you can accompany Ness while I'm dropping Claire off?" He asked, and then came over and picked me up like a baby.

"No problem, Jake," Quil stood up and kissed me on the forehead before Jake started walking off.

"Thanks for including me," I said as soon as we were out of earshot, even for the wolves.

"Don't mention it, Claire," he shooed off the thank you as if he had done nothing. I smiled and tried to fall asleep again.

Right before the darkness took over my vision there was a scream that shot out. Jacob and I gasped simultaneously.

In one suave motion I was on the ground and Jacob stood away from me. "Get home. Now." He growled at me and ran off faster than I had ever seen a person run. I was guessing the scream came from Nessie. And Quil was with him.

I didn't have to listen to Jacob, he wasn't my alpha. My stupid broken leg kept me from getting up and running back towards Quil, so instead I crawled along the forest floor as fast as I could. "Quil!" I whispered, too afraid to scream. "Quil!"

And just like the little, weak one I was; I started to bawl. Quil was in trouble right now, and again I couldn't help him. But, I remained crawling. Before long, though, I could hear a voice calling out my name. Not the strong voice of Quil that I longed for, but the boy-ish tone of Seth. "Claire, where are you?" He asked.

I was surprised he couldn't hear me sobbing, but I couldn't cry out, because... well, honestly, I didn't want to be found. If Seth got to me he would take me home and then I couldn't help at all.

He eventually saw me, and got on his knees to talk to me. "You all right?" He asked me.

I shook my head, though I wished I could have slapped him. Of course I wasn't all right!

"Take me to Quil, I need to help him!" I told him.

He frowned and shook his head back at me. "No, strict orders from Quil to get you home."

"Why didn't he come and find me himself?" I asked, afraid that maybe he was just making it up.

"He's sort of busy," he heaved me off of the ground and started running the opposite direction where I wanted to go.

I kicked and screamed, but he didn't loosen his grip.

He kept running. It seemed like forever when we finally reached my house and he ran in and sat me on the couch. Then, he ran down the hallway, probably to talk to Sam or something.

Only seconds later did I see Sam running back down the hallway, followed by Seth, and out of the door. "You stay. Keep them safe," he growled right as the door slammed close."

Emily followed a few seconds later, dressed in a light pink bath robe that she was struggling to pull on. She saw me and leaned down in front of the couch.

"What's happening, Seth?" She asked him, even though her eyes kept on me.

"That Zachary guy... Jake left for just one second and he attacked out of nowhere."

I expected her then to wear the same scared expression I had, but she remained absolutely calm. "You need your sleep, honey. Seth, can you carry her to her bedroom?" She asked of him.

I shook my head furiously, "No. I don't want to be left alone," I cried. "Please, Aunt Emily," I threw my arms around her neck, "I don't want anything else to happen."

She nodded and climbed up on the couch so my head was in her lap and was rubbing my hair.

But, there was something in her that wasn't so calm. It was because Sam was out there. Her Sam. Our men were out there, fighting. And yet, I was bawling my eyes out and she remained calm and collected.

We sat like that for hours, or maybe it wasn't, I didn't know. She maintained the same rhythm of her hand as it brushed from the top of my head to my neck. I could here Seth, pacing behind the couch.

I sat up the very second I heard his footsteps stop.

He looked out the window, and through the woods. I saw nothing, but he had super wolf vision. But, then I saw wolves gently descend from the woods. I saw every member of the pack, except Jacob.

I wish I could have ran out there and throw my arms around my wolf, that's what Emily did. Instead, I waited for Quil to phase back, get some clothes, and finally run inside to me.

"Claire bear," he sighed, relieved that I was okay, again.

"What happened? Where's Jacob and Ness?" I asked him quickly.

"Everyone is okay. Jacob brought Nessie back to the Cullen house in case she had any injuries. Zachary got away again," he growled.

How long would this process repeat before one of us turned out dead?


	7. Sunlight Fighting Through Clouds

Even with all the drama happening, I had some feeling the Sam was thinking about something else. This was confirmed when Quil and I were sitting on the couch a few minutes after he had returned; and Sam walked up to us wit his arms folded.

"Do you mind explaining what happened?" he asked, and his entire glare and body was directed towards Quil. "Why was Claire out there during all of this?"

"Can't we talk about it elsewhere, Sam? Claire really needs to go to bed," Quil looked over at me worryingly. I groaned when I remembered that tomorrow was another day of school.

He almost broke in to an angry face, but then Sam picked me up and carried down the hallway quicker than I could protest. I thanked him and asked him to not be so hard on Quil.

"Sure, sure," he muttered, almost unintelligibly.

Again I woke up to the sweet, harmonic sound of my Aunt Emily.

"Honey," she cooed while sweeping some hair out of my face. "Uncle Sam said you should stay home if you're not feeling well."  
I yawned and wanted so much to nod and then sleep. But, then I remembered that I did have a history test fourth hour. Ugh, I so didn't feel like it.

"No," I muttered and threw the sheets off of myself. "I've got an important test today. But, thanks for the concern, Auntie," I smiled at her and she forced one too.

She grabbed me a pair of jeans, some socks, and a sweatshirt and placed them on my bed before leaving.

I waited until I heard her car out of the driveway before I even attempted to get up.

Slowly I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I sighed, somehow I wished the cast could disappear overnight.

I grabbed my crutches and walked over the window to see Quil sitting in his truck, of course. I smiled and waved my hand towards me as if to say "Come in!"

He smiled and got in my room quicker than I could sit down again. But, he helped me, of course.

"Are you sure you're up for school today, Claire bear?" He asked me, rubbing my arm.

"Trust me, I wish I could stay home. But, I've really got to take this test and it's not going to kill me to go to school," I heaved myself up and Quil was at my aid.

"I've got to get dressed," I told him as I walked over to the other side of my bed to retrieve my clothes.

"All right, I'll get a nice bowl of cereal ready for you when you're done," and surprisingly he walked up to me and kissed my cheek. I flushed a thousand shades of red and my stomach did a flip.

Once he was out and has the door closed I threw on my sweatshirt, socks, and jeans and threw my hair up in a ponytail. Same old, same old.

I went out to the kitchen and met up with a huge bowl of Trix and an even huger glass of milk. Once I finished (with Quil's help) we headed out and off to school. I tried to look alive as possible as I thought about the long day ahead of me.

First hour was a little fun, I mean, English definitely one of my hardest subjects. Then, I sighed as I hobbled over to Spanish. The most boring class in the world. Third hour Geometry was the same.

I groaned as I got into my fourth class; history. I opened my book as soon as I sat down and studied for a few minutes.

My teacher glared at me during attendance and finally got around and gave me another glare as he handed the test over. What was up with him today?

The test took all hour and I barely finished. It was all on the Chinese culture from 1500-1800 which was probably the hardest section in the book from my perspective.

But, to top of my oh-so wonderful day, now it was gym class.

I walked in the front door of the locker room, expecting to get a worksheet to fill out while the rest of the class did gym.

"Claire!" practically screamed, "Your leg still broken, huh?"

I looked up at her, afraid, "Well, it's only been two days."

She laughed, "I really don't care. If you think you can skip out more than a day for gym for having a broken leg, you're mistaken. Unless you're dead or in a coma, you're going to participate today."

My jaw dropped, "But I can't run! I can't play badminton either because I have to hold on to my crutches!

She snorted out a laugh again, "So, when you run you'll just be exercising your arms. Nothing wrong with that, scrawny. As for badminton, I'm sure you could manage something. Be creative." She walked away and a couple girls turned to stare at me.

I tried to fight a few tears and I got to my gym locker and awkwardly changed into shorts and a t-shirt. This really sucked.

I laughed when I remembered I could just have Sam call the school and claw them out for making me do this.

Luckily, one of my quieter friends, Luna, helped me out and ran with me during warm up run. Though, I felt bad for her as we lost match after match of badminton because of my disability.

Afterwords I thanked her at least three times for putting up with me.

She only shook her head, "Don't even worry, Claire, anytime."

I went to the bathroom before I went to change and struggled in such a little, green stall. I waited until most people were out before I came out and washed my hands. I always felt better if I changed by myself, and Mrs. Long was still in the gym, helping guys who lifted weights after school.

So I took my sweet time as I sat on the wooden bench and pulled off my shirt and jeans.

"Mmm..." A soft voice said from behind me. I grabbed my shirt and clutched it to my chest immediately, falling on the floor while doing so. "So young, so fresh, so spring," I hardly heard over the noise of my heart thumping loudly.

A man approached from behind the locker area; the man I hated; Zachary.

"Go away," I hissed, trying to sound very serious.

He laughed and got in front of me on his knees, "Don't think so, kitten." He leaned forward and pulled on the strap of my bra.

On a sudden instant, my hand reached out and slapped him. But, it didn't affect him in any way; I should have know. And, god, did my hand hurt.

"I thought you broke enough bones by now to remember that I'm indestructible," he laughed his evil laugh and gave me a hard pat on my head.

"Now, you're going to listen to me," he said, as if trying to lure me in.

I shook my head.

"You're going to listen to me or after I hurt you, I'm going to hurt all you love."

I didn't hesitate to nod.

"Now, you're going to be completely submissive as I remove your clothes. Then, you're not going to scream or cry as I have fun with you. Then, when you're finally happy with my decision--"

I snorted out of instinct.

"Oh, you'll be happy, trust me... then, you're going to write your wolf boy a letter, saying how scared you are and what I did to you. Then, you'll die a painful death." He stopped to smile. "Fun, huh?"

I gulped, "He'll kill you. When he's seen what you have done he won't stop to do whatever he can to hurt you worse."

He shrugged, "I doubt it. Now..." he pulled on my bra string again and pulled it down to my shoulder. I cringed at his icy touch.

I closed my eyes and tried not to cry. I tried so hard.

Before he could actually remove any of my close there was a big thump and he wasn't touching me anymore. I opened my eyes in shock and gasped at what I saw.

Feet in front of me stood, of all people, Edward Cullen. He was facing away from me and was holding Zachary up to the wall by his neck, talking very softly but sternly.

I looked to my side and saw another vampire; Alice Cullen. She was grabbing a towel from a nearby bench and had me up and wrapped in seconds.

"Alice, get Claire out! Now! He's too strong!" he yelled quietly in pain.

"Come on, sweetie," she grabbed my crutches and grabbed my jeans and sweatshirt, thank god.

I finally let myself sob as she carried me out through the building, somehow without anyone seeing me and in to the woods.

"Quil!" she said calmly, "Stay away just a few seconds. Let her get dressed!"

She set me down and threw on my clothes faster than I knew was possible.

"She's good," she said in the same voice again.

I saw my wolf appear not to far away and reached out my arms to him, sobbing.

He came up to me and laid down to put his head by me so I could wrap my arms around his huge mane.

"I'm sorry this happened Quil!" I cried, "It was so horrible!"

He pulled back to look me in the eyes. I could tell that he felt much more worse than I.

"Sorry to interfere," Alice leaned down and put her hand on my shoulder, "But, I've got to go back and help Edward," she then looked at Quil, "Well, unless you were planning to--"

He nodded and I reached my arms around him again. "Please, no! Stay with me, please!" And I knew I sounded whiny, and I knew I sounded like a desperate little girl. But I knew it was the only way he would stay and not risk his life.

He looked at Alice and shook his head.

"All right, then take her to our house. Carlisle can check her up to make sure she's not injured and when I left Jacob told me he wanted to see you as soon as possible," she looked at me to share her worry and then ran off towards the school.

Quil slung me on to his back without hurting my leg, he picked up my crutches in his gigantic mouth and off he trotted to the Cullen house. Again.


	8. Shine On Me

Carlisle examined me again. But all he found was a few bruises and amazingly no broken bones. I couldn't even believe it myself, I was sure I'd broken every bone in my hand after trying to slap Zachary.

Alice got me some of her clothes and helped me change into them. At first I was cautious about letting her dress me, but then I remembered that she had helped dressed me in the forest and this was no different.

Now, I was sitting in the living room of the Cullen house, waiting for the men to get done talking in the kitchen. I sat next to Renesmee and she was flipping through the channels aimlessly; obviously not caring what to watch.

"What do you think is going to happen?" I asked her, trying to look her in the eyes. She was just too pretty, it was sort of shocking me to be next to her.

"Well, I think Quil is going to finally convince Sam that this house is a better place for all the imprints while Zachary is out there. I mean, both times you were attacked, my father and Carlisle were able to help. It makes more sense," she said, smoothing out her knee length skirt.

"So, we would just live here? What about school and where would we sleep?" I asked, actually curious.

"This house is huge, each wolf and their imprint would have a room for themselves. And you're the only one who's enrolled in school, and there is only a few weeks left. I'm sure they could get your homework for you and you would be able to pass," she said, turning off the television and turning to face me.

I shrugged, "That might be fun. Quil and I would be around each other constantly." The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea.

She smiled and nodded, but then turned her attention to something else. She looked up with love in her eyes at something behind me. I turned around, and it was Jacob.

"Jake!" she said, letting him take her in his arms. He held her just right so that her skirt didn't fly down to uncover her thighs.

"Hey, Ness, just talking with Claire here?" he asked her, clearly with as much love in his eyes as she had for him.

A look into the future of what Quil and I would be someday.

Speaking of Quil, he walked in the living room and sat beside me immediately, his arm around my shoulders. I hadn't seen him at all since he had been in wolf form. I didn't even know what had happened to him, Edward, or Zachary.

"Quil?" I asked feverishly, "What happened after you went into the school?"

He clenched his teeth and looked down, "He got away before I could even reach the school. He's too fast and too strong," he hissed. "I'm so sorry Claire, I should have been listening better, I should have heard your heartbeat speed up."

I tilted my head, "How would you do that? I thought you go to work after you drop me off..."

He breathed in a sharp breath. "Claire, watching you is my job. When you're at school, I park my truck nearby and phase so I can listen real close to what's happening. I just didn't think he would actually dare to come in to your school..."

I put my hand over his mouth, "Don't apologize."

His eyebrows furrowed and he removed my hand softly, "If I ever get my hands on him, he's a dead man. What did he do to you?"

I squeezed his hand in mine, "He didn't hurt me like before... none of my bones are broken," I informed him proudly."

He wrapped his arms around me and held me just right, "You don't have to worry about it anymore, Claire, we're staying here."

"What!" I inquired with wide eyes, "Seriously!"

He nodded, "Your uncle isn't very happy about it. But, he agreed that you are Zachary's number one target, and that you should be under very special watch. The rest of the pack doesn't want their imprints here," he said.

"And you'll be staying here too?" I asked, holding on to him tighter now.

"Yes, Claire, I'll be here. Tomorrow Emily is going to get your list of assignments for class for the rest of the year. So we'll have a lot of homework to do, but once you're finished it will be your real summer vacation."

"Do you still have to go on the weekends?" I asked, praying the answer was no.

"Yes," he sighed, "During that time all the imprints will be here only because there's no one else who can take on Zachary. I wish we didn't have to go, but I know we'll find him soon and take him down. Trust me," he sounded so truthful, it would be hard not to trust him and every sweet word he said.

* * *

I screamed and ran faster and faster, all the while screaming Quil's name over and over. It wasn't that I was calling to him to come and help: I knew he was not far ahead of me and that he needed to get out oft the danger.

I dared myself to look over my shoulder and once I did I realized that I was no longer being chased by that... _monster_. This didn't stop me continuing on because for all I knew he could have ran ahead of me and gotten to my Quil first.

"Quil!" I screamed, hurting my throat with the strength of my voice. "Run! Get out of here! Now!"

A million questions popped in my head: could he here me? Did it matter to him? No, it didn't, he wouldn't get out of harm's way until I was. But I couldn't let anything happen so I continued to run faster towards him; perhaps towards the monster too.

After I got to where I had been heading, a very small, remote clearing in the woods, I looked around and saw nothing. "Quil?" I cried out a lot softer than before. I fell to my knees and began sobbing.

Out of nowhere a pair of arms wrapped themselves around me and I was almost about to melt into them before I realized these arms were cold and hard; stone arms. I squealed some more and tried to move in his arms but it wasn't possible. He was just _too_ strong.

"No! Please!" I begged him quietly, out of energy to scream or yelp.

He just encircled me tighter with one arm and let the other pick up strands of my hair and inhaled. Then, his free arm went to my waist and pulled the hem of my shirt up, exposing my left hip. I clenched my teeth and no longer cried audibly; just shook.

"Let go of me! No!" I continued to whisper over and over.

"Claire..." a voice trailed off, sounding a little worried. "Claire!"

Confused, I turned my head to look at the monster. He kept mouthing 'Claire' over and over but the voice didn't sound like his. It sounded like Quil's. I knitted my eyebrows together in confusion and grunted: still begging him to let me go.

"Claire! Wake up! It's okay, honey..." Quil's voice said as the scene before me faded and I went to darkness. Then, straight out of darkness, I woke to a bright light.

Dazed and scared, I screamed again tried to get on my feet. Right as my foot touched the ground I realized I had made a big mistake and expected to collapse because of the heavy caste taking half of my leg up.

But, I got lucky, and this time a pair of warm arms were around me and I was lifted off the floor instantly and on to the bed: on my side, facing Quil.

He looked more worried than I had really ever seen him. I gasped as I took it all in... everything that just happened was just a dream. Zachary wasn't after me... well, not chasing me anyways.

"Oh, Claire," Quil sighed, pulling me closely and resting his head on my shoulder. "Are you okay?"

I tensed and tried to nod, feeling hot water run from my eyes. Damnit.

When he felt the tears he immediately pulled me back to look at me and run his hands through my hair: a gesture that could usually calm me down.

"Don't worry," he cooed to me, making me truly not want to worry. "Nothing will hurt you. You're safe right here." He pulled me in an embrace again and rubbed my back over the cotton fabric of my shirt.

"When did you come in here?" I looked at him, biting my lip, hoping he hadn't heard how desperate I might have sounded through my sleep talking.

"Just a few minutes ago, I swear. I was eating breakfast when the mind-reader tensed up and told me that you were having a bad dream... a very bad dream. Well, then you started screaming and I ran in here: trying to wake you up," he chuckled suddenly. "Not a completely easy task.

I sighed and tried to contain my tears some more. "You could hear my screams? I was _that_ loud?"

He rubbed my back some more and laughed again. "Don't worry, honey, really. Mostly everyone is out of the house doing their own thing. And trust me, the few that were inside were just worried more than anything. I'm sure they'll be glad to know you're okay..." he trailed off.

I didn't really know what to say so I just laid my head down on his shoulder and wound one of my hands with his; rubbing the back of his hand with my thumb, and him doing it back at me.

"Did I have you really worried?" I asked him, afraid of the answer.

He hitched his breath like he was thinking of not answering at all but eventually spoke. "Yes, Edward gave me a brief description of your dream... he said it was about that..." I could feel his jaw clench next to my head and I interrupted him.

"You don't have to say his name. It's fine, I know. But... thank you for waking me up... I don't know if I could have stood another minute of that dream."

I could tell by the silence that he really wanted to know what exactly the dream had been about; all the details.

I told him everything, feeling relaxed after everything came out. He sat absolutely still the entire time until I got to the part of Zachary pulling my shirt up a little. Quil actually took his hands and placed them over my hips; sealing the fabric against them: very possessively. I blushed a little from that and I thought I heard a low grumble come out of his mouth saying something along the lines of, "My hips." I tried not to laugh, but remembered that I was his love... his imprint. Of course he would be this protective. And, for all I cared, he owned every single organ and bone in my body.

Especially my heart.


End file.
